Kraft Asset Management LLC Takes $277,000 Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Kraft Asset Management LLC acquired a position in Verizon Communications Inc., purchasing 6,392 shares valued at approximately $277,000.
• Analysts have given Verizon Communications a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy", with an average price target of $47.63.
• Verizon recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.69 per share, increasing from the previous $0.68, representing an annual yield of 6.4%.

Kraft Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 6,392 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock, valued at approximately $277,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 121.8% during the 1st quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 176,531 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $8,007,000 after acquiring an additional 96,931 shares during the last quarter. BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $381,000. Element Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,799,000. Meyer Handelman Co. grew its position in Verizon Communications by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 1,110,948 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $50,393,000 after acquiring an additional 76,083 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rempart Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Verizon Communications by 52.8% during the 1st quarter. Rempart Asset Management Inc. now owns 310,390 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $14,079,000 after acquiring an additional 107,200 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $49.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Arete Research upgraded Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.63.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ stock opened at $43.35 on Wednesday. The business's fifty day moving average is $43.43 and its 200-day moving average is $43.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The company has a market cap of $182.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.36. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.58 and a twelve month high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.47 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.15 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.69 per share. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This is a boost from Verizon Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.17%.

Verizon Communications Profile

Verizon Communications Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of communications, technology, information, and entertainment products and services to consumers, businesses, and governmental entities worldwide. It operates in two segments, Verizon Consumer Group (Consumer) and Verizon Business Group (Business).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.